Maurice Sendak is gone

Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and many others, has left us and will be missed by generations of children, some not yet born. Don't miss the ultimate interview with Stephen Colbert.

Valhalla Press e-publishes the Ambermere Series

Valhalla Press proudly announces the publication of J. Calvin Pierce’s Ambermere series. Pierce penned the series twenty years ago when it met with critical acclaim and was translated into several languages including Russian. The books, The Door to Ambermere, the Sorceress of Ambermere, and The Wizard of Ambermere went on to become cult classics.

Valhalla Press is celebrating the 20^th Anniversary of the Ambermere release with the electronic re-release of this classic series.  Readers may enjoy the books in the e-book format of their choice. The books are currently available for the Kindle, Nook or on Smashwords. Readers may also download the Kindle App to allow their PC or Mac to read the Kindle version. Shortly, the books will be released in Apple ibooks and on Kobo.

In The Door to Ambermere, Daniel believes the only really pressing issue in his life is a little misunderstanding with a mobster. That’s because, lacking any awareness of the kingdom of Ambermere, possibly because it is located in an alternative world, he has no way of anticipating what impact the machinations of a tippling magician could possibly have on his life. He’s about to find out.

In The Sorceress of Ambermere, Marcia is clinging to the increasingly dreamlike memories of the previous summer. Had she really had those adventures, really braved those perils? The scar on her cheekbone and the ring on her finger said yes. But then, where is Hannah the witch? Where is the young woman with the impossible aura and wild, frightening eyes? Marcia is waiting, but not patiently…

The Wizard of Ambermere finds Marcia in her apartment. She has now participated in so many strange events, has acquired a history of such a surrealistic complexion, that the most outlandish adventures have come to seem perfectly normal. Really, what could surprise her now? Meanwhile, in Ambermere things are not quite as they should be. Will Asbrak the Fat have to call on Rogan the Obscure again?

In honor of the 20^th Anniversary, Valhalla Press is also e-publishing two shorter works by Mr. Pierce: Meals on Wheels, a short story and Sahib, a novelette.  Our hope is to give Mr. Piece’s fans a fresh look at his work and introduce these enduring classics to a new generation. 

Virginity Checks OK in US

The world was outraged when the Egyptian military conducted so-called virginity checks on female protesters during the Egyptian Revolution and even more so when the doctors who conducted them were found not guilty last month in an Egyptian court.

Where's the outrage here in the US now that the United States Supreme Court has authorized what amounts to the same thing, except performed by deputy sheriffs and prison wardens. The court authorized strip searches for anyone arrested even on minor charges like traffic violations. Presumably angry protesters may face the same treatment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/us/justices-approve-strip-searches-for-any-offense.html

Behind "In the Shadow of Midnight"

On a steamy September Savannah day in 2005, my wife and I, with our wheezing bichon frise, escaped the 90-degree heat into our rented condo on East Broad Street in the Trustee's Garden section of town. We were grateful for the Savannah-capacity air conditioning in our vacation bungalow as we collapsed on our bed to take an afternoon nap. (Southerners would be appalled at the wimpy excuses we have for air conditioners in Pennsylvania.) A few hours later, I awoke and looked out the front window to see four police cruisers, an ambulance and a hearse at the building across the street. We watched the paramedics roll out two bodies and immediately assumed murder/suicide.

The two bodies were Bob and Tina Stoddard. As the story of their lives and deaths unfolded, I was drawn to them as flawed, tragic, but sympathetic characters who lived in the shadow of the more celebrated goings-on on Monterey Square.  Their attempts to enjoy the magical world that Jim Williams and the Savannah elite created always fell short. Their desire, Bob's in particular, to be a part of that Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil world ultimately destroyed them.

In the next few blogs, I will provide some back story to the tale In the Shadow of Midnight: Daedalus, a Tale of Savannah.

In the opening scene, where I describe the tourists rounding the corner, turning toward the river, and never seeing the vehicular apparatus of death deployed outside the Stoddard's apartment, it reminded me of Breugel's painting, The Fall of Icarus. The parallel between Daedalus and Bob Stoddard became too obvious to ignore.

I coupled the two stories to play on two gothic concepts:  ancestral ghosts and the strange sort of predestination they appear to exert in some people's lives. The myths of Ovid are just as alive today as they were when written and when Breugel was painting a millennia and half later.

New narrative non-fiction available

Valhalla Press has just published In the Shadow of Midnight: Daedalus, A Tale of Savannah by Albert Davenport.

To preview the narrative nonfiction work, click here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007KST57O

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Pax Turkana: Turkey, Egypt and the Remaking of the Middle East

It was the first post-modern technology-driven revolution. While revolutions of the 20^th century took months of struggle, this one was furiously fast. It was as if the usual revolutionary course was on fast-forward. Within the span of a mere 17 days, Egypt’s people forced out a despot and ushered in a care-taking governing council while a new constitution was drafted and elections scheduled.

Compare that to 20^th century revolutions such as the Russian Revolution of 1917, which began in early January with widespread strikes an ended with the Czar Nicholas II’s abdication on March 2. The Chinese revolution of 1911 began on October 10 and ended with the abdication of the last emperor of the Manchu Dynasty on February 12, 1912.

It was also the first revolution seen live across the globe. Twitter and Facebook played prominent roles before the international media figured out something big was happening in the most populous Muslim country in the Middle East. When the Mubarek regime sent in riders on camels to terrorize the protestors camped out in Tahrir Square, millions saw it happening on YouTube.

But like revolutions before, abdication is merely the beginning. What happens next is both predictable and unpredictable - predictable in its path, but unpredictable in the details. The Russians got the Bolshevik Revolution by October of the same year after the caretaker government was overthrown. The Chinese got Mao. Who or what will the Egyptians get?

There are a few good bets. The Muslim Brotherhood may rise through election to the Egyptian Parliament, where questions remain unanswered about their agenda. The military may resist giving up its caretaker role and delay elections, spurring another, more violent and ideological revolution. Or the emerging regional influence of Turkey may prove the catalyst for a broader, more moderate, perhaps even secular Islamic republic - something some no doubt believe an oxymoron.

This book explores the possibilities and makes a few educated guesses at Egypt and the region’s future post-American influence. Publication date is January 1, 2012

Valhalla Press announces the coming publication of In the Shadow of Quisling: Norway Grapples with its WWII Ghosts

In the Shadow of Quisling: Norway Grapples with its WWII Ghosts, explores the Nordic Myth of superiority and its surprising persistence in the face of reality.

Today, Northern Europe looks dramatically different than it did before World War II. There’s a sizeable population of non-Nordic immigrants. Turks, Pakistanis, Indians, Vietnamese and Africans live and work in countries that two or three generations ago were largely Caucasian.

The shocking slaughter of teens on an island in the Oslo Fjord brought the tension under the surface bubbling up. Here was an “ethnic Norwegian” taking revenge on the perceived sins of the government and modern society for allowing an alleged ‘invasion’ of Muslims into Europe.

In the Shadow of Quisling is the second book in our Current Political Thought series and is scheduled for publication in February 2012.